Restructuring is one of those business decisions that feels purely commercial until you get into the detail. Roles need to change. Some may no longer exist. Headcount needs to reduce. And suddenly what started as a strategic conversation becomes a people conversation, with legal obligations attached.4
This is where a lot of businesses get into trouble. Not because they made the wrong commercial call, but because they did not understand what the process required before they started.
Redundancy and restructuring are not the same thing
People issues are part of running a team. But if performance conversations, complaints, or interpersonal friction are consistently pulling you away from the work that actually moves the business forward, that is not a people problem. It is a systems problem.
Good HR support is not just about putting out fires. It is about building the foundations that stop small issues from becoming expensive ones. When the right processes are in place, you get your time and headspace back. Which is usually the reason people started their business in the first place.
Your employment contracts have not been reviewed since you hired your first employee
It is worth being clear on this from the start, because the distinction matters legally.
A genuine redundancy occurs when a job is no longer required to be performed by anyone. Under the Fair Work Act 2009, for a redundancy to be considered genuine the employer must no longer require the job to be done, must have complied with any consultation obligations under an applicable modern award or enterprise agreement, and must have considered whether the employee could be redeployed elsewhere in the business.
If those conditions are not met, what looks like a redundancy may be treated as an unfair dismissal by the Fair Work Commission.
Restructuring is broader. It covers changes to how a business is organised, including role changes, team mergers, and shifts in reporting lines, that may or may not result in redundancy. Not every restructure involves job losses, but almost every restructure has HR and psychosocial safety implications that need to be managed properly.
Consultation is not optional
One of the most common mistakes businesses make during a restructure is treating consultation as a formality rather than a genuine obligation.
Under most modern awards and many enterprise agreements, employers are required to consult with affected employees before a decision is implemented. This means informing employees of the proposed change, explaining the likely effects on them, and giving them a genuine opportunity to raise concerns or suggest alternatives.
Consultation does not mean the employee gets to veto the decision. It does mean the employer has to genuinely consider what the employee raises before finalising the outcome. Going through the motions without doing that properly is a procedural failure that can undermine an otherwise legitimate restructure.
Getting the consultation process right, and documented, is one of the most practical things a human resources consultant in Brisbane does during a restructure.
Redeployment before redundancy
Before a redundancy can proceed, the employer must genuinely consider whether the employee can be redeployed into another role within the business or an associated entity.
This does not mean creating a role that does not exist. It means looking honestly at what vacancies or suitable positions are available and whether the employee could perform that work, with or without reasonable retraining.
For small to medium-sized businesses this step is often straightforward. For businesses with multiple teams or a parent company it requires a broader look. Either way the consideration needs to happen and it needs to be documented.
Skipping this step, or treating it as a tick-box exercise, is another common reason restructures that are commercially sound end up generating Fair Work claims.
Redundancy pay entitlements
Employees who are made redundant may be entitled to redundancy pay under the National Employment Standards, depending on their length of service. This is separate from notice pay and applies in addition to it.
The amount varies based on the period of continuous service. Employees with at least one year of service are generally entitled to redundancy pay, with the amount increasing based on years worked.
Small businesses with fewer than 15 employees are generally exempt from paying redundancy entitlements under the National Employment Standards, though notice obligations still apply. It is worth confirming the specific entitlements that apply to your business before any decision is made.
What this looks like when it is done well
A well-managed restructure has a clear process behind it. The business has identified what needs to change and why. Affected employees are notified properly and given a genuine opportunity to be heard. Redeployment options have been considered and documented. Entitlements have been calculated correctly. And the outcomes are communicated clearly and with respect for the people involved.
That process does not happen by accident. It requires someone who understands the obligations, can guide the business through each step, and can make sure the documentation exists to support the decisions that were made.
For business owners going through this for the first time it can feel overwhelming. The commercial pressure to move quickly sits uncomfortably alongside the legal requirement to do it properly. Getting those two things to work together is exactly where external HR support earns its place.
When to bring in support
If a restructure is on the horizon, the time to bring in a human resources consultant is before the conversations start, not after.
Once affected employees have been spoken to, once announcements have been made, the process becomes much harder to correct if something was missed. Planning the process properly from the start, understanding the obligations, and having the documentation ready before the first conversation happens is how businesses get through restructures without generating claims on the other side.
It does not need to be complicated. But it does need to be done right.
UPP HR works with businesses across Brisbane and Australia to manage restructures and redundancies that are legally sound and handled with care. Get in touch to have a conversation before the process starts.